RaphaelReader: Difficult
by plastronix
Summary: A Raphael/Reader insert set about a year after the 2014 movie.
1. A Problem

[Name] hated to admit it. It made her feel so pathetic. She couldn't lie though. The teenage girl was incredibly delicate compared to the company she kept. She only stood at 5'5'' and that was a whole 9 inches less than the shortest of the brothers. She had been living with the turtles for around 2 months now, and couldn't be happier. But it was hard trying to hide certain emotions when a girl was so insecure when it came to romance.

She didn't have training in the martial arts, so in her own eyes she was useless and a burden to the turtles, it was still embarrassing no matter the amount of reassurance. She had ended up here because of a near kidnapping the turtles had stopped. Thanks to some extra convincing from April, with who [Name] had become fast friends with in between the kidnapping and her staying here. It was nice, not having any responsibilities aside from helping out with patrolling once in a while. Who could complain? She constantly spent time with who she would call her best friends, but recently [Name] had started to develop a problem…

Every time he walked near her heart sped up, she would smile more and try to do things to appeal to him. But like she already knew, she was delicate and Raphael was tough. So obviously he would want a girl who's tough too wouldn't he? [Name] figured herself extremely tough emotionally, no insult could harm her unless it came from someone she cared deeply about. Her father died three years ago when she was 13 and she made friends with the wrong people after that, so she was apathetic towards people trying to hurt her feelings.

But currently she was hanging out with Donnie in his lab, listening to music as he worked on Michelangelo's skateboard, this was probably the third time this week he had broke it. [Name] sighed lazily, leaning her chin on Donatello's shoulder as he worked. She could probably do this for hours, it was so calming to watch him work. Donnie turned his head, adjusting his glasses with a smile. "Something troubling you, [Name]?" It was almost unnecessary to ask what the problem was, he had caught on to her feelings right away and Leonardo followed soon after. The only one who hadn't found out aside from Raphael was Michelangelo, not that that was surprising; for someone who obsessed about girls so much he didn't know much about how their emotions worked.

"Hmm, nothing important.." She mused, leaning back into her chair and folding her arms in front of her chest. He scratched his head, pulling away from the repairs for a moment and turning in his chair to face the teen.

"Well you can always talk to me you know." He reassured, a kind smile gracing his features.

"Yeah.. I know." She muttered, glancing down at the floor as her cheeks tinged with pink for a moment. "It's just… Hard to talk about, I guess."

He sighed, rolling his eyes playfully and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm not going to make you tell me, but don't hesitate if you want to, okay?"

Her face broke into a smile and [Name] nodded, "I know. Thank you Donnie." She murmured, standing and hugging him tight.

He laughed and patted her head playfully, "Any time."

"I'm gonna go see what the others are up to." [Name] explained, removing her arms from the brainiac and waving. Donatello nodded and waved, turning back to Mikey's board and hunching back over to continue work as [Name] closed the door.

When she heard grunting from the dojo that familiar feeling returned. Her stomach started churning as she heard Raphael curse in aggravation from the other room. "Come on Raph, you gotta learn to control yourself better…" The oldest brother sighed, getting a frustrated grunt in return. A frown came across [Name]'s face as you walked over hesitantly, she knew it was foolish and potentially harmful to walk in on them training, but had to know what happened this time.

Slowly, she pulled the doors open and peeked around the edge. Raphael was clutching his right fist in pain and clenching his jaw in anger. A good guess would be that he and Leo were sparring and he got lost in anger and hit the wall when Leonardo dodged. Unfortunately, [Name] wasn't a ninja and got detected within seconds. The blue clad turtle lifted his head, looking towards her and letting out a sigh. "Uh.. Sorry." [Name]'s voice came out as a pitiful squeak and her face went red. "I just.. wanted to…" Well she didn't really have a good excuse, if one of them got hurt she couldn't do much to help. "I wanted to make sure everything was ok."

Leo smiled softly, it was sweet of her to check up on them, but extremely dangerous if Raphael was still in one of his rages. April had nearly got thrown into the wall when she walked in just as Raph had thrown a training dummy at the door. "Everything's fine [Name]. Just a uh.." He paused to look at Raphael, who had turned his back to [Name] in embarrassment. "A little accident." The larger turtle turned suddenly, walking straight towards [Name] and pushing past to get the his room. She flinched away, chewing her lip nervously and looking down at the floor in shame. "Don't worry about it.. Raph's just being… Well you know how he is." Leonardo sighed, walking over and placing a hand on the girls shoulder. "I wouldn't overthink it."

"I know.." She sighed, leaning into his plastron with a groan. "Does Raphael hate me?"

"What? Of course not! If he hated you he would tell you, trust me." Leo smiled, "He tells me all the time."

"Yeah but you know he doesn't hate you! He hardly ever speaks to me, just get's pissed and ignores me whenever I enter the room." She whined, crossing her arms and ducking her head down.

The oldest brother almost thought about telling [Name] that Raphael felt the same way about her as she did about him, but then Raph would _really_ hate him. "Well why don't you go talk to him?"

"Talk to him?!" She seemed appalled at the idea, "He'll make fun of me!"

"He won't, I promise." He chuckled, nudging her towards Raph's bedroom and grinning reassuringly. [Name] looked betrayed, giving him a pathetic attempt at a death glare as she shuffled her way towards the rageaholic's room. She knocked gently, which she thought would go completely unheard until a growl of "Come in." came from the room. The door creaked open and Raphael turned to meet [Name]'s eyes, quickly turning his head away.

"What do you want?" He asked gruffly, resuming the polishing of his sai and sighing. Why was she here? This wasn't helping his attitude. It was getting hard enough to hide how he felt without her coming to him.

"I wanted to make sure you were alright." [Name] explained shakily, taking a few steps closer to him sat on his bed. "It looked like you hurt your hand."

His expression softened slightly as he glanced over at her, deciding to respond after a brief silence. "Yeah… Yeah I did." He sighed, showing his bruised hand to her, some blood seeping from his knuckles. So he did punch the wall. [Name] repressed the urge to ask if he was alright as she took his hand to examine it closer, knowing she'd get sarcasm in return.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" She asked gently, looking up and flushing scarlet when she saw he was staring down at her.

He blinked rapidly, looking down as his green cheeks tinged with red. "Uh, it'll be fine." Raphael nodded to himself, gently and almost reluctantly pulling his hand away. "Just a bruise." What the hell was this new Raph? He hadn't snapped at [Name] once this entire conversation. The ninja raised his head again and glanced to [Name], opening his mouth to speak as she looked around nervously but changing his mind. It was pointless, she wouldn't be attracted to a giant turtle with a temper problem. She had probably had tons better boyfriends anyway… He was so lost in thought he gasped aloud when their eyes suddenly met again. "I-I uh.." He stammered, looking desperately for an excuse before hurrying out of the room.

[Name] stared dumbfounded, rubbing her eyes to make sure she saw right. "H-Huh?" Why would he just leave like that?


	2. Some Advice

Raphael bolted from his room, past Leo training, and Mikey playing 360, and Donnie in his lab and out into the sewers. He kept running, jumping up and maneuvering the pipes until he reached the surface. How embarrassing. He looked like a fool staring at her like that, he cursed himself as he crawled out of the manhole into the dark alleyway, thankful it was night time.

Panting, he held his head in his hands and shook his head in shame. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," He growled, rubbing his temples. [Name] would mock him if she knew how he felt, who wouldn't laugh at him? As if someone like her could ever have feelings for someone like him… Raphael gave a low groan and slumped back against the wall, just now realizing that bolting out of the room probably made him look even more ridiculous.

* * *

All the brothers and [Name] had now entered the main dwelling and were exchanging looks of confusion.

"Whoa, what was that all about?" Michelangelo asked, hopping over the back of the couch as he paused his game, his necklaces rattling.

[Name] stammered, struggling for an answer as the rest of the brothers peered at her curiously. "I.. W-We were just sitting there and he ran off!" She whimpered, getting understanding looks from all but Mikey. "D-Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not, [Name]." Donatello smiled weakly, it was too hard to try and keep both of their secrets at once. But no, Leo said they had to figure it out on their own. He definitely saw why it was more important but it would be so much easier to just tell them!

"He'll come back soon, I wouldn't worry about it." Mikey sighed, climbing over the couch and plopping back down with a thud. "Happens all the time."

Leonardo shook his head and sighed, "Well it's late.. You should get to bed anyway [Name]." He suggested, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he lead her to her makeshift bedroom near the kitchen, where a sleeping bag and one of her childhood stuffed animals lay waiting.

"I can stay up later really.. You don't have to babysit me." She protested weakly even though she was already laying down and curling up under her blankets.

Leo smiled, "But that's what we're here for." He teased, "Just sleep, okay?"

[Name] sighed and rolled onto her side. "Okay.. Goodnight Leo. Goodnight Donnie, Mikey." She yawned, her eyes fluttering shut as the brothers told her goodnight.

* * *

This was so embarrassing. Raphael couldn't believe what he was doing right now. He kept his head down under the hat and made sure to keep all of his body hidden under the trenchcoat he wore, only a block more… He paused as he reached the apartment, pulling down the fire escape and hurrying up to April's window. The turtle gave a sigh of relief as he spotted April tapping away on her laptop upon her bed, knocking gently on the window.

The brunette jumped, her eyes widening as she looked to the window before realizing who it was and getting up, confusion in her eyes as she opened the window and let him in. "What's up Raph?" She inquired gently, taking the hat and coat as he pulled them off.

"April I uh… I need some help." He admitted bashfully, nervously rubbing the back of his neck and giving a sigh of defeat.

"Of course. Why don't you sit down?" April offered kindly, motioning to the bed and letting out a small laugh as the bed caved inward at his weight. She sat down beside him, looking up curiously as the turtle fidgeted uncomfortably.

Raphael stammered, clenching his hands into fists as he looked to her desperately. "Well, uh… You're a girl, right?" Oh god what a stupid question, he sounded like Mikey. April's smile widened as she nodded, she had a feeling she knew what he would ask. "I-If I were to… If I wanted…" How the hell was he supposed to phrase this? "How do I get [Name] to like me?" He spat it out, a bit harsher than necessary, but he had been holding this in for weeks and this was the first time he said it aloud.

April couldn't help but laugh, she never expected Raphael to actually admit how he felt. "Raphael, why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

The mutant glared, "That's why! You're laughin' at me! I knew it was stupid to ask, I'm just gonna get mocked if I tell her! Mikey's never gonna let me hear the end of it!" He stood swiftly, heading towards the window.

"Raph, don't!" She called, grabbing his hand and frowning. "I wasn't laughing at you I swear. I can promise you she won't mock you. It's just funny seeing big strong Raphael so embarrassed." The brunette gave a reassuring smile, leading him back to the bed.

"Yeah tell me about it.." He groaned. "I've never felt like this before, I don't really know what to do."

April placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "Just do what feels right, I promise nothing bad with happen."

"Yeah, how do you know?" He snapped.

He really wasn't making this easy was he? "Just trust me, okay? Can you do that?" She asked, standing up again and walking to the window with him.

Raphael eyed her uneasily but sighed and nodded, "Fine, but if you're wrong I'm never trusting you again!" He threatened, only half teasing as he climbed out the window. It only took a couple minutes to get back to the sewer and of course he had to be greeted by a lecture from Leo about how he shouldn't run out like that. Does he know how dangerous that is? He could have been seen! And worst of all he hurt [Name]'s feelings! Raphael froze when the last part met his ears. He hurt [Name]? "I did not." He whispered, crossing his arms and glaring.

"You did!" Leonardo hissed, stepping closer so they were inches away from one another. "She started freaking out wondering if she did something wrong!"

"Well I didn't mean to, alright?!" The younger brother growled, his voice continuing to raise as [Name] stirred in her sleep.

"You're apologizing to her the minute she wakes up, capiche? And keep your voice down!" He ordered, walking past to his room and shutting the door. Raphael seethed, his hands balled into fists as he resisted the urge to throw something and scream. He sighed angrily, looking over the [Name] asleep in her "room". Fine. Apologize when she wakes up. The thought of leaving like he had threatened to all those times crossed his mind again, but he shook it off as he stormed to his bedroom and slammed the door shut.


	3. Finally

**Author's Note: **Thank you guys so much for all the support! Sorry this update is so short!

* * *

The next morning was uncomfortable, Raphael had refused to come out of his room for hours until he was ordered to by his father at noon. Upon emerging from his room, he gave a sigh of relief at the absence of [Name] from the living room. The less he had to see her, the better. Master Splinter scrutinized his son as he walked past him towards the kitchen, pulling open the fridge in search of "breakfast" as the rat spoke up. "Don't you have something to do, Raphael?"

"Nothing I can think of, sensei." He fumed, his grip on the handle of the fridge tightening as his eyes darted to [Name]'s bed and gave him away.

"We both know that is not true." Splinter sighed, walking closer to Raphael and looking up at him. "You cannot continue to hide your feelings like this, my son."

"I…" He started, shutting the fridge as he spoke, his voice completely unconvincing. "I don't know what you're talking about." Raphael turned away, his hunger could wait until he wouldn't be pestered by his family. It wasn't wise to work out on an empty stomach, but he couldn't stand being questioned about his behavior. As her laugh filled the air he froze in his place, thankful for the sound of Master Splinter leaving the room as Raphael suddenly quickened his pace toward the dojo.

[Name] sat on the floor and watched the three brothers train, giggling at Michelangelo's attempts to amuse her with new tricks. "Geez Mikey cut it out, we gotta focus on training." Donatello groaned, extending his staff and knocking the youngest brother onto his shell only to be rewarded by another laugh from [Name].

Leonardo smiled and shook his head, "Stop it you two!" He called over his shoulder, pausing to turn around as the doors slid open.

Mikey stood up and dusted himself off as Raphael trudged inside, the air going sour as [Name] ceased her laughter. "Morning sunshine." Mikey chuckled, flinching as Raph lunged at him. "Touchy touchy~" He taunted further, ducking to avoid a fist aimed at his head. "Ok, god!" The orange ninja scoffed, backing away with his hands in front of him.

[Name] ducked her head down as Leonardo walked over and stood close to her, almost defensively. Donatello looked uneasily between his brothers as their eyes locked, almost inclined to lead [Name] out of the dojo before Leo put a hand up to him. "Raph, don't you have something to say?"

He hated this. This stupid self righteous, fearless leader act. Why couldn't he just apologize on his own time when he could make it sincere? He didn't need any more conflict though. Swallowing hard, Raphael made his way over to [Name], making sure that none of his movements looked threatening as he knelt beside her. He glanced backwards at his brothers, grimacing as they all snapped their heads in the opposite direction. [Name] lifted her head as he turned back to her, "I.. Didn't mean to make you worried. You didn't do anything wrong… I'm…" He clenched his jaw and groaned. "Sorry." He seethed, standing back up and walking over to his weights, snapping at Leo on the way over. "Happy?"

[Name] stood up, hesitantly making her way towards the hulking turtle and wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you Raphael." She murmured, looking up at him with red cheeks as she gave a nervous smile.

A smile twitched at his lips, "Yeah well don't get used to it." He scoffed, placing a hand on her face and pushing her back playfully, earning a giggle and causing his heart to soar. He rolled his eyes, casting a sideways glance to her and blushing. "Don't you have anything better to do?" He challenged upon noticing [Name] was still watching him.

She bit her lip nervously and gave a small smile, "Sorry.." Really she could watch the brothers train forever. They were funny and kind, and sometimes if she was lucky she would actually learn something. Although she could rarely watch when Raphael was around because he became distant and they all feared an outburst. It was nice to have someone watch him work out, Raphael thought, but surely [Name] wasn't doing it because she enjoyed it. She had to be mocking him, right?

A sound from the entrance made all of them freeze. Raphael dropped his weights and hurried to the door of the dojo, rushing to protect [Name] before any of the others could even react. The teenage girl clung on to Raphael out of fear, gasping as he lifted her into his arms instinctively. Leonardo ran to the door, listening as the room fell silent and sighing with relief as a familiar "Hello?" rang from the main room. Mikey grinned, sprinting out of the dojo and catching April in a hug.

"Angelcakes!" He cheered, gripping her tight as she laughing and squirmed in his grip.

"Hi Mikey." She laughed leaning her head on his shoulder as he set her down, the others filing in. "How have you guys been?"

"Pretty good, how's life up on the surface?" Donatello inquired, sitting down on the couch and smiling up at the brunette.

Raphael relaxed as the group conversed, looking down and turning bright red at the realization that [Name] was still in his arms. She wasn't even holding on because she was scared now, she just sat there in his arms with a smile, her head rested on his plastron. She looked content like this.. Like she enjoyed being in his arms.

Reluctantly, he placed her on her feet and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck and clearing his throat uneasily. "So uh.. Yeah." He coughed, "I'm really sorry if I hurt your feelings.."

Another laugh, and his heart thudded harder like it was trying to escape. "It's ok Raphael, really.." She cooed, the sound of his name coming from her sending a shiver down his spine. He heard her reassurance, but he still felt that he hadn't gotten his point through.

"No.. I know I'm an asshole sometimes.. I'm really sorr-" He began to rant, cut off by a softness against his cheek. Green eyes widened as Raph lifted a hand to his cheek, staring blankly at [Name].

"Uh.. S-Sorr-" She gasped, turning scarlet as the turtle gripped her shoulders and pressed his lips against hers. He was positive he was a terrible kisser, but he was still trying to process the fact that she had kissed him in the first place. [Name] threw her arms around Raphael's neck, smiling into the kiss as she returned it happily.


	4. Bull Headed

The next week was blissful, every moment of freedom was spent together, truly how a teenager's relationship should work out and the only downside was the constant taunts from Mikey.

At the moment [Name] was trying to do her nails as Raphael watched over her shoulder curiously as she continued to mess up because of shaky hands. He gave a soft laugh and shook his head, chewing his toothpick as he took the polish from his - well now she was his girlfriend - and started correcting her mistakes. "You ain't good for anything, are you?" He teased, kissing her cheek gently.

She giggled, leaning into his chest and kissing his jaw. "I might be better if you taught me some skills." She suggested, looking up at him as her [Eye color] orbs shone with innocence. She had been trying to drop hints about learning ninjutsu, so now [Name] used every small obstacle as a reason for her to learn.

"Like what?" He murmured, glancing away from her nails for a moment and laughing at the look on her face. "Meditation and control? Cuz you should ask Leo if you wanna know that."

"Yeah.. But I just wanna learn how to defend myself better in general, and I wanna learn from you!" She pleaded, "What if I get attacked again? I wanna be able to help myself."

Raphael furrowed his brow in thought, leaving her nails to dry as he closed up the polish and gave a sigh. "I'll talk to Master Splinter." He promised gently, giving her a reassuring smile.

That was one thing [Name] had noticed more and more; for someone so large and brutish with such a short temper, he was incredibly gentle with her. She waved her hands to quicken their drying, "Thank you Raphael.."

The red ninja smiled, lifting her gently to turn her in his direction, guiding her arms to his shell and kissing her neck gently. "I wish you told me sooner.." He murmured against her flesh, holding her waist in his hands.

[Name] turned bright red, pressing against his chest with a nervous giggle. "I know.." She lifted her head to stare into his eyes, placing a gentle kiss on the scar on his lip. "But it's not like you're completely innocent either!" She taunted, kissing him softly.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes, gripping her tighter as he pressed a knee in between her legs with a lecherous grin. "Yeah, so? I'm a giant turtle it's not exactly a safe assumption." He taunted, pulling her closer. The girl giggled, opening her mouth to speak before the door slammed open and Michelangelo burst in. Raphael turned and snarled, "Learn to fuckin' knock, Mikey!"

"Uh, sorry! But there's trouble and we gotta go!" He gave a nervous grin, blushing at the position the couple was in before hurrying out.

Raphael cursed under his breath and removed [Name] from his arms with a groan, kissing her softly and mumbling a sorry.

"Can I come with?" She piped up, quickly realizing how foolish the idea was and clapping a hand over her mouth.

Raphael raised an eye ridge in utter confusion, "Are you crazy? You could get hurt!"

She thought about backing down peacefully, but she didn't want to be seen as some coward or a pushover at this point. "I'll be fine though! It can be a good way for me to learn!"

Bad idea. Two bull headed people refusing to back down never ended well, and this wouldn't be an exception. "Learn?! Don't be stupid! You're staying here, you hear me?" He commanded, standing to his full height and towering over her.

[Name] flinched for a moment, glaring and crossing her arms over his chest. "Fine." She snarled, turning her head away from him as he walked out of the room. Like she would just stay there, yeah right. She sat, listening as Raphael told them roughly he was ready to go, ignoring questions about the yelling as they headed off.

She sighed and slinked out of the room, following them out of the sewers as silently as possible, which proved easy since they were so much faster and noisier. When [Name] reached the surface it was much harder to follow along since they were so quiet and navigated by rooftop. She watched from below, catching glimpses and hurrying after them. It became much easier to tell where they were heading when she heard screaming coming from an alley. Once the turtles got close enough she peeked around to see the situation. Another kidnapping. This had to be a bigger problem than she thought…

She watched with a grin as Raphael dropped down in front of the man stuffing the girl into their van and threw him into the wall. Leonardo came from the shadows as Donatello swept another with his staff. At this point [Name] had already realized how foolish and dangerous this was, but she couldn't back down, and there was only one guy left standing and if she took him out it would be ok!

The girl jumped onto his back when he turned to face the turtles, promptly realizing she had no idea what to do and thankful that he fell over and she was pinning him. She grinned, looking up to the four brothers before being thrown back and slamming her head on the concrete as the man pushed her off, her vision quickly going black.


	5. Options

The first thing she heard was whispering, choked and desperate whispering.

"I-I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to call you stupid. Please don't go.." The voice faded in and out as [Name] began to gain consciousness.

A second voice came, "Raph don't worry.. She'll be ok, I promise." She recognized it as Donnie, and felt his slender fingers on her face as he pulled her eyelid up and shone a light in her eye, grinning as [Name] pulled back and gave a whine, rushing to cover her eyes. "See, she's getting up n-"

Raphael jumped up, shoving Donnie aside and crouching over his girlfriend hastily. "A-Are you alright?" He gasped, quickly wiping his eyes and staring at her in horror.

Donatello pulled him away gently, "Please Raph, don't overwhelm her!" He leaned in, frowning at her still weak state. "How do you feel?" He murmured gently.

[Name] looked up at Raphael, her lip quivering before she burst into tears. "I'm sorry!" She sobbed, burying her face in the blanket covering her as Donatello looked at Raphael with a look of bewilderment.

"Uh.. Should I go?" He stammered, pointing to the door nervously.

Raphael turned and glared, stray tears still streaming down his face as Donnie bolted from the room. He turned back to [Name], shakily lifting her into a sitting position and sitting down beside her. "Please don't be sorry baby.. I-It's all my fault." He choked, clutching her close to his plastron and stroking her hair gently.

"I-I should have listened to you.." [Name] muttered softly, clinging tight to him as she let her tears flow freely. "I understand if you don't want to teach me..."

He shook his head, "Of course I'll teach you…" He whispered, kissing her cheek softly.

She gave a weak smile and lifted her head, wiping his tears and placing her lips on his scar. "Raphael.." She murmured softly, hesitating with her words for a moment before continuing. "I love you."

Raphael stared, dumbfounded before kissing her passionately, every movement making her heart pound faster as he cupped her face in his three-fingered hands. The two remained locked for minutes, breaking only to gasp for air as he pulled her into his lap and tangled his fingers in her hair before finally pulling away slowly. "I love you too.."

Donatello knocked, cracking the door open to peek in, "Is it safe?"

Raphael laughed softly and shook his head, "Yeah, it's fine."

The tallest brother gave a smile and walked inside, stooping down to meet [Name]'s eye level. "Well, there's no serious damage but you do have a bit of a concussion, so avoid bright lights, etcetera."

[Name] nodded with a smile as she listened. "Thank you Donatello.." She murmured, hugging him tight.

He laughed and ruffled her hair, "You don't need to thank me, but you're welcome. You should get some rest though."

She nodded, blushing as Raphael rushed to help her, tucking her in and grinning softly. It was one of the few genuine loving smiles he gave. She leaned up, hugging his neck and kissing his cheek. "Thank you.." She cooed softly.

He rubbed the back of his neck and blushed, "Yeah yeah.. Just get to sleep, alright?" She nodded with a smile, pulling the blankets closer and shutting her eyes.

* * *

A few days had passed now, [Name] felt completely healed - she had for a while actually, Raphael just didn't feel safe letting her get up and move - and April was taking her out shopping to celebrate. Raphael sat on his bed, once again tangled up with [Name] in an embrace, his forehead resting against hers as she reassured him that she would be fine. Raphael had become more open about his feelings when the two started dating, and even more so since the accident.

"Don't talk to anyone who looks suspicious, got it?" He commanded again, staring into her wide, [color] eyes as she nodded in understanding for the twentieth time.

"Raph, it'll be ok.. I promise." [Name] murmured, kissing his scar gently and giving him a small smile. He sighed, the sincerity of her gaze lifting some of the fearful weight from his chest as he nodded.

"Yeah.. Yeah you're right." He whispered hoarsely, clutching her to his chest and kissing her forehead softly as his brothers cheered in the main room, signalling the arrival of April. The mutant released her from his grip and kissed her temple softly before heading into the other room with her.

He greeted April and the brothers waved them off as they left, Mikey still waving as he turned to look at Raphael. "You're really not gonna follow her?" He inquired, "That'd be pretty impressive."

The red ninja scoffed, "You're damn right I'm following them."

* * *

April smiled as the two walked out of another store, carrying bags full of clothes while they talked and continued down the street, unaware of the eyes watching them from the alley. But.. Raphael was on the rooftops as he watched the girls, unaware of the stranger in the alley. The ninja followed along silently, watching them go in and out and slowly start to make their way back to the lair. He heaved a sigh of relief and leaned back against a wall when he hopped down into a dark alley, thinking of the quickest way to get home as he heard a familiar giggle come from down the street. He quirked an eye ridge curiously, peeking out of the alley to see some man talking to April and [Name].

He was tall, with scraggly black hair and some rough stubble, he wore a tattered flannel and torn jeans as he smirked down at the two in a way that made Raphael's fists clench, especially since [Name] was smiling as he flirted with them. He stormed off, heading home quickly in a rage.

In reality, April and [Name] were just acting nice to just try and make him go away faster. April gave an uneasy smile as she grabbed [Name]'s arm gently. "We should really get going, we have to get back home."

He scoffed, placing a hand on the wall as he towered over the two and blocking the path before them. "Come on, it'll be ok. Just get a couple drink with me."

April squared her jaw and narrowed her eyes, still keeping her sweet smile as she began to move around him with [Name]. "No really, we need to leave." She spat, hurrying off before the man could reply.

* * *

The two returned to the lair quickly and were, as usual, happily greeted by the brothers, all except Raphael. [Name] frowned, heading off to his room and peeking inside shyly. "Raphael..?" She murmured gently, giving a sigh of relief at the sight of him on his bed. He turned his head, glancing at his significant other from the corner of his eye and giving a grunt. She frowned and walked forward, "What's wrong..?" She cooed, placing a hand on his shell gently and smiling at the small shudder he gave.

He remained silent for a while, at least a few minutes before deciding he didn't want to have a fight. "I saw you with that guy.." He muttered, his voice a low growl.

"So? You know I don't care about anyone but you.." [Name] frowned, knowing it would be best to not acknowledge that he had followed them.

"Do I?" Raph snarled, turning his head to face her and glaring harshly. "What choices do I have?" His voice grew louder as he demanded answers. "You have a whole species of options if we don't work out! What do I have?!"

She flinched back and frowned, "Raphael I swear I would never hurt you like that.." She whimpered softly, grabbing his hands gently and staring into his amber eyes.

He sighed, his breathing relaxing as he gripped her fragile hands in return and pulling her close as he muttered an apology.


End file.
